Mounting and engine cover mounting for outboard motors



Feb. 12, 1952 R c, HE|DNER ETAL 2,585,774

MOUNTING AND ENGINE COVER MOUNTING FDR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed May 8. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l Will/111111111 Z8 55 as \Z 22 55 1 l? (f/I6 56 II M I 4o 40 H I qr VB.

55 r at {I [HI \wt j'my H I 1 62 b2 2' Ala l IE- I! 4- Z6 FIG. '5

INVENTORS 4o RICHARD C. Hemnsa 58- BY Wuxoao BBURKETT Feb. 12, 1952 R. c. HEIDNER ET AL 2,585,774

MOUNTING AND ENGINE COVER MOUNTING FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed May a. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 3- Fl (:1. Z I r b "I H l L i M" 5b -1 V II I I/ l 40 i 4s l l l Q 38 M !4 4 5 h I i 3b 26 I 52 5Q l 1 lb I i1 M2 52, RICHARD. C,HE\DNER BY Winona B.BURKETT A-r-roRueY 1952 R. c. HEIDNER ET AL MOUNTING AND ENGINE COVER MOUNTING FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 8, 1950 FIG.

INVENTORS RiCHARD C. Hemucn By WILFORD B. BURKETT Fla. l2.

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 12, 1 952 I MOUNTING ENGINE COVER; MOUN TING "FORDUTBOARDZMOIORS Bichardsfl. sHeidner. Jana rwilford l'B. Burkett, l

lli rt o d, -:W.is-, 2 ssi n rs .to Ml st :Bend Aluminum 100., West Bend, Wi s a ,corporation. of.

Wisconsin Application May 8,-1950,-S-erial-N o. 160 602 Glaims- .1 This inventionirelatesatoiimprovements input.- board motors and particularly ato .mountings therefor which lessen :the .transmissiomof vibration shock ifrorn the-engine :to :theitiller engine cover, and boat.

Shock :mountings zhave 1;been developed :Lfor

' cushioning the itorque vibration -.of the engine from the transom :bracket .and .=from :the .ztiller. Such mountings do .:not however prevent other typesof vibrationiromi being transmitted; to .:the tiller and .to the transom rtbracket. .Thecoyers for thevengines.ofioutboardiimotorsein accordance with present .design are rather large and relatively heavy. :It-isimportantzthereforethat they be insulated .from torque and. other types of Nibration.

It is .an object of this invention therefore to provide a .mounting 'for; an outboard;motor which prevents the transmission of torque vibration from :the engine to zthe 1 tiller, iengin'e -.cover, :and transom bracket and I also minimizes the transe mission of other types :of .vibration from the engine to such parts.

.Another object of the invention :is ':.to; provide means forisecuringthe-engine cover to :theengine support aplate in a 'facile and .:simple manner, easily operated andrfeasibly lunobtrusive.

The first of these. objects :is viattaineii;-byi:pr.oviding an engine cover and tiller support-which is'carried by 'theitransomlbracket andgfloatably mounting the engineuwith zIGSDfiOtitQthG support andthe transom bracketiby-a resilient member carried by the .bracket. :Itis preferableto-also provide a vibration .absorbing 'member :between the supportand.thettransom bracket which will prevent the transmission :from the engine of other than torque vibration to the .tiller rand engine-housing. With this construction theoscillation of the engine andits shafchousing due to torque vibration is absorbed by permitting such oscillation to tak .p1ace:.within the limits of r a resilient bushing through which the engine is amounted to a sleeve-like member .rotatably carried in the transom bracket. By reason of resilient shock-absorbing members positioned between such sleeve-like member and therengine cover and tiller support, any vibration transmitted from the engine to .the sleeve-like member is further dampened [and the .amount thereof transmitted to the tiller and cover. so reduced as to be negligible. 7

The second "of these objects .is attained 'by loosely mounting a threaded'tubular member to the starter-spider. so that it is substantially coaxial with the axis of'rotation of the crank shaft of vL-the 1 engine rand ;byzsecuring :the lower there o withta screw .throughrtheltoppf the couer. The loose mounting :and -coaxial zplacernent @621. he threaded :tube rprevents gany rtorque or Lother vi.- bration from dieing transmitted -;to t l 1 e :engine cover through .thesorew. Theitqpiof the gengine coverdscslightly deflected astltheficrew tight.- ened and thus supplies gsuificient {force to hold theeover securely againstgitsgsuppq it.

The-novel ieatures mhicheare ponsldered char,- acteristic .Of. the invention, gare :Se :iorth 1 'th particularity .in the appended vention;i'tself, however, both as o il .lf .%l1 tion anditsmethod.ofroperation, .together with additional -obiects and advanta esth reoL; j besthe'nnderstoockfrom itherfollowin @scrip on of aspeciflmembodimentlwheni eau. tion .withithe accompanying drawings a 1 Fig .1 .is :a v iew.,in side leleyattion, o,f.;an. motor embodyingthepresent; vent V p lng shown-in.sectionzfor;sake ofril-lustration;

.;Eig.;2 :is .an enlarged ifr-agmentary rview partly in side.elevation.aandipartlysj section ishpw l 'thedetails :of-ltheshock mounting;

Fig. Bisairagmentary, sectional viewrtalgen on 1iIlei3-: 30fiEig..2;

JEi .4..is .a.fragmentar-msectionalrviewita senon linejidriofFigfij r f .Eig. 5:15 arfragmentaryzeectiflnali lieW tak n linez15..:5::of;=Fig:2f;

:Fig. 26 is a rir'agmentary sectionalzsriew taken onrllnelfi-efiofFig.2;

.Fig. 47; islaefragmentarysectional yiewital en on line z'lf'kofgfiigr 2;

:Fig. 2 8: is:a:"fragmentaryienlargedcsectional eWIi'eW takenorr line s..a:;or Eigfi;

F-ig.9' is-iazfragmentarywi'ew' partlyiincsidezel'evation and partly in (section: showing atherdetail of the mechanism for holding :cth uengine mover -to:its support;

F-ig. --1'0 is an: enlarged lfragmenta-ry .viewztalsen on line 0-40 of Fig; 9;

*Fig. 12 is -'-an enlarged fragmeritary 4 sectional viewtaken online I ll-Ht 'ofFig. 9 and r :Fig. '13 is af'fragmen'tary sectional view taken on*1ine7l3- l 3"o'f Fig. 1 12.

Referring to the fclrawings by "reference ;numerals, .the outboard imotor, 'in'ciicated' generaliy at ill], in its usual construction =isrwll known; Theypower head or engineismountedjat the tqp of "the vertical leg, or power unit supp'ort 12 and its power is transmitted through drive-"shafts and. gearing toithej propeller "carried-at the lower 3 end of such leg. The motor is carried on the transom of a boat. It is mounted thereto by a transom bracket of conventional design, one part of the transom bracket, designed as swivel bracket I4, being pivoted so that the motor may be swung with the swivel bracket in a vertical plane.

In this particular embodiment of the invention there is provided a support plate I6 upon which is carried an engine cover I8 and to which the tiller 28 is secured. The support plate I6 is not secured to the power head but instead is carried by swivel bracket I4 in the manner hereinafter described. The power head, however, is directly mounted to the vertical leg or power unit support I2 by having a lower portion of the engine block 22 secured to the upper end of such leg by machine bolts 24. Thus the torque vibration and other types of vibration created by the operation of the power head are directly transmitted to the vertical leg or power unit support I2.

The vertical leg or power unit support I2 and its power head are connected with the swivel bracket I4 so as to have relative rotation with respect thereto for the purpose of steering. To this end the leg or power unit support I2 mounts a tubular king pin 26 in upper and lower bearings 28' and 36 formed at the top and bottom of a recess in the forward wall of such leg. The upper bearing 28 is split at 32 and a machine screw 34 adjusts the diameter of such bearing to clamp the tubular king pin 26 in its proper assembled position. The swivel bracket I4 has a cylindrical steering column bearing portion 36 which substantially completely surrounds the tubular king pin 28. However, the inner diameter of .the steering bearing 36 is considerably larger than the outer diameter of the king pin 26 so that there may be incorporated therebetween torque-absorbing bushing units. The upper of these bushing units consists of an outer metal sleeve-like member 38, the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion of which has a snug turning fit within the steering column bearing 36. At its upper end the member 38 has an outwardly flaring flange 48, a portion of which constitutes a seat for receiving vertical thrust from the weight of the motor and.another portion of which provides a support to which is mounted the support plate I6. An oil-resistant synthetic rubber bushing 42 is vulcanized to the interior diameter of the member 38 and is provided with a central bore which slidably receives the tubular king pin 26. At its upper end the bushing is flared outwardly and has vulcanized to its upper surface a metal washer 44 provided with a radial slot 46. This slot accommodates a pin 48 fixed in the upper portion of the vertical leg or power unit support I2. The upper portion of the rubber bushing is compressed and carries the weight of the power head and vertical leg or power unit support I2. However, whenever the power head is rotatably moved relative to the vertical leg or power unit support l2 a torque is transmitted through the pin 48 to the washer 44 to which the rubber bushing 42 is vulcanized. Thus bushing 42 will be stressed in shear, by reason of the turningof its upper surface with respect to the outer surface thereof vulcanized to the sleeve-like member 38, and the motor is allowed to rotatively oscillate with respect to the sleeve-like member 38 and swivel bracket I4 within the elastic limits of such bushing.' In so doing all but negligible amounts of'torque vibration are absorbed within the bushing and not transmitted to the swivel bracket or the transom of the boat.

In operation of the outboard motor certain 4 amounts of lateral thrust are transmitted from the tubular king pin 26 to the swivel bracket I4 and support plate I6. These are absorbed by compressing the walls of the bushing 42 and the bushing 52, the latter of which is vulcanized to the inner wall of the metal sleeve 50 fitted within the lower part of the steering column bearing 36 thus providing broader distribution of lateral vibration forces. To assemble the transom bracket to the vertical leg the upper and lower bushing units are inserted in their respective places in the steering column bearing 36 and then the swivel bracket I4 is fitted within the recess of the vertical leg or power unit support I2 and the tubular king pin 26 slid longitudinally .down through the upper bearing 28 through the bores in each of the bushings and into the lower bearing 38. The clamping screw 34 is then tightened to hold the pin in place. The drive shaft 54 of the motor passes through the tubular king pin when the engine is assembled in place. Before the engine is secured to the vertical leg I2 of the upport plate I6 is fastened to the mounting fiange46. The support plate I6 has four inwardly projecting lugs 55 which rest upon the upper surface of the flange 46 and are threaded to receive machine screws 62 by which the plate I6 is made fast-to the sleeve-like member 38.

The support plate I6 has a peripheral shoulder 64 at its upper edge on which is seated the lower edge of the engine cover I8. The tiller 28 is secured in the wall of the support plate I6 so that this plate thus acts as a carrying member for both the engine cover and tiller. It is preferable to insulate the plate I6 from the mounting flanges 46. To effectuate this a lower layer 56 and an upper layer 58 of oil-resistant synthetic rubber is vulcanized to both bottom and top sides of the flanges 46 and such layers are joined by liners 68 which pass through openings in the flanges. Thus the machine screws 62 as well as the lugs 55 are spaced from the flanges 40 by a considerable thickness of rubber. This insures that vibration other than torque vibration which is transmitted to the sleeve-like member 38 through the bushing 42 is absorbed and no appreciable or disturbing amount thereof will be transmitted through support plate I6 to the cover I8 or tiller 2!].

In order to retain the cover I8 in place on the support plate I6 it is necessary that some fastening device be employed. It is desirable that the device used be inexpensive and at the same time easily operated so that the cover may be quickly removed and replaced. To accomplish this, holes 82 are drilled in diametric positions in the walls of the hollow mounting 63 which forms the axialar support for the starter pulley and associated mechanism (not shown). This mounting is press-fitted within and supported by the spider mounting 66 which is structurally secured to the power unit support I2 to provide the structural support for the entire starter mechanism. The mounting 68, because it forms the axialar support for the starter pulley, is concentrically alined with the drive shaft of the power unit and axis of rotation of said power unit support and hence angular oscillations of such power unit do not effect appreciable torque vibration of the mounting. A transverse pin I6 has a loose fit within the diametric holes in the hollow mounting 68. In order to keep the pin Hi from longitudinal dis placement the holes in the hollow mounting are spaced closely enough to the upper end of such mounting so that they will be within the confines of the opening in the spider 66 in whichsuch mounting is positioned. A longitudinally, interiorly threaded tube 12 is looselyv mounted through diametric, enlarged holes 14 in its walls on pin so that the tube 12 may wobble from side to side and be self-alining. It is desirable, however, to normally hold the tube '12 in a substantially vertical position in order that the screw 18 may readily fit therein. This is accomplished by placing a square block made of sponge rubber or other resilient material which is mounted on the tube 12 and engages the interior Walls of the mounting 68 to center the tube 12 substantially coaxially with the axis of the drive shaft of the engine. The top of the cover i provided with an opening in which is positioned a headed machine screw 18 rotatably held in place by a rubber washer 8S tightly engaging the shank of such screw adjacent its head and bearing against the inner surface of the engine cover i8. To operate this fastening device it is only necessary to put the cover in place. This automatically alines the screw l8 with the threaded tube 12. By turning the screw 18 clockwise it is drawn into the tube and the top of the cover slightly deflected and placed under tension holding the cover it tightly on the shoulder 64. When it is desired to remove the cover it is only necessary to unthread the screw 18 from the tube 12 and the cover may then be immediately removed. The Washer 86 keeps the screw 18 from being lost and hence the device becomes a very effective fastener. As the head of the screw 18 may be recessed in a countersunk portion of the top of the cover 18 it will be hardly visible and will not alter or mar the smooth, stream-line appearance of the engine cover and its support.

Although only one embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein it will be understood that this application is intended to cover such change or modifications as come within the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In an outboard motor, a transom mounting including a swivel bracket having a steering column bearing, a power unit support turnable with respect to said bearing, a resilient connection between said support and said bearing to dampen vibration transmission therebetween, an engine cover supporting plate associated with said bearing and rotatable with respect to said power unit support, a tiller secured to said plate, and an engine cover mounted on said plate.

2. In an outboard motor as claimed in claim 1, a member rotatably mounted in said bearing, and a resilient connection between said member and said supporting plate.

'3. In an outboard motor as claimed in claim 1, a fastening element extending between said engine cover and said power unit support for detachably holding said cover to said supporting plate, said fastening element being coaxially positioned relative to the axis of rotation of said power unit support to prevent torque vibrations from being transmitted from said power unit support to said cover.

4. In an outboard motor, a transom mounting including a swivel bracket having a steering column bearing, a power unit having a support turnable about an axis coaxial with said bearing, a sleeve-like member rotatably fitted in said bearing and having a flange extending outwardly of said bearing, a resilient connection between said support and said member for permitting said support to oscillate with respect to said member, a supporting plate secured to said flange and having an outer portion extending beyond said power unit to hold an engine cover, a tiller operatively secured to said plate, and an engine cover mounted on said outer portion and encasing said power unit.

5. In an outboard motor as claimed in claim 4, a resilient member between said supporting plate and said flange.

6. In an outboard motor as claimed in claim 4, an internally threaded tube loosely connected to said power unit support and coaxially arranged with respect to the axis of said bearing, and an externally threaded member carried by said cover and engageable with said tube when said cover is positioned on said support to hold said cover thereon.

'7. In an outboard motor, a transom mounting including a swivel bracket having a steering column bearing, a power unit support turnable with respect to said bearing, a resilient connection between said support and said bearing to dampen vibration transmission therebetween, an engine cover supporting plate associated with said bearing and rotatable with respect to said power unit support, and an engine cover mounted on said plate.

8. In an outboard motor having a power unit and a vertical drive shaft, a support for said power unit providing a housing for said shaft, a mounting member having a steering column hearing, a tubular king pin secured to said support and encircling said drive shaft, said king pin being positioned within said bearing, a bushing unit interposed between said bearing and said king pin, said unit comprising a metallic sleevelike outer portion rotatably carried in said bearing, an inner flexible portion secured to said sleeve-like portion and in engagement with said king pin, and a washer on the upper end of said inner flexible portion and secured thereto, said power unit being connected with said washer whereby torque vibration is transmitted therebetween, and an enclosure for said said power unit supported by said outer portion.

9. In an outboard motor as claimed in claim 8 in which said Washer is slotted and said power unit has a pin extending into said slot to transmit torque vibration between said unit and said washer.

10. In an outboard motor as claimed in claim 8 in which there is an engine cover sup-port resiliently connected to said sleeve-like outer portion-and in which a tiller is mounted on said support.

RICHARD C. HEIDNER. WILFORD B. BURKETT.

REFERENCES CETEI) The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,932,785 Irgens Oct. 31, 1933 2,256,831 Karey Sept. 23, 1941 2,462,272 Martin Feb. 22, 1949 

